Two Greene County deputies and a motorist narrowly avoided serious injuries on I-20 on May 11 when a distracted driver collided with patrol units and caused a chain-reaction accident.
According to Greene County Sheriff Donnie Harrison, Deputy Ryan Hall and Sgt. Will Smith were dispatched to a single-vehicle accident near milepost 136 eastbound at 7:55 a.m. Sunday morning.
“While they were in the process of clearing this accident, another vehicle collided with patrol units parked on the left shoulder out of the lane of travel with emergency lights on at approximately 8:33 a.m.,” Harrison said.
Witnesses said the driver of the vehicle, later identified as Andre Noah Lee, was looking down at his cell phone and traveling at approximately 80 miles per hour when he struck the rear of Smith’s Chevy Tahoe, which was pushed into the back of Hall’s Dodge Charger that then crashed into the rear of the motorist’s Honda Civic.
The force of the collision launched Smith’s Tahoe into the air and over the three-foot cable barrier next to the median.
The motorist sitting in the back of a Greene County patrol vehicle reported some pain, but did not turn out to be seriously injured. Hall and Smith also escaped unscathed.
Lee suffered injuries and was transported to Piedmont Regional Hospital in Athens.
“It’s a miracle no one was killed or seriously injured,” Harrison said.
Harrison reminded motorists not to text and drive and to comply with Georgia’s Move Over Law when approaching emergency units that are assisting other motorists.
“This accident could have been much worse and definitely could have been avoided,” Harrison said.